Director, Project Management & Process Improvement

Description

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Director, Project Management & Process Improvement is a leadership position responsible for advancing operational excellence across oncology services. This role provides strategic oversight for complex, cross-functional projects and process improvement initiatives that support growth, access, quality, patient experience, financial performance, and operational efficiency. The Director establishes project governance, leads change management, partners with executive, physician, clinical, and administrative leaders, and drives sustainable improvement through disciplined project management, data-driven decision-making, and structured process improvement methodologies.

CORE ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Leads the oncology project management and process improvement portfolio, ensuring initiatives are aligned with organizational priorities, growth objectives, operational goals, timelines, budgets, and measurable outcomes.
• Provides leadership to multidisciplinary teams and facilitates communication, accountability, decision-making, and alignment among executive, physician, clinical, operational, finance, IT, and external stakeholders.
• Identifies and mitigates project, operational, workflow, and change-management risks; resolves barriers; escalates critical issues; and develops strategies to maintain progress and minimize disruption.
• Establishes and maintains project governance tools, dashboards, status reporting, milestone tracking, risk logs, and performance metrics to support transparency, prioritization, executive reporting, and continuous improvement.
• Ensures compliance with healthcare regulations, accreditation standards, organizational policies, and applicable privacy requirements, including HIPAA, to safeguard data integrity and patient privacy.
• Directs process improvement initiatives using structured methodologies such as Lean, Six Sigma, workflow mapping, value stream mapping, root cause analysis, standard work, and change management to improve quality, efficiency, access, throughput, patient experience, and team experience.
• Serves as an internal consultant and leadership partner to assess current-state operations, identify variation and gaps, redesign workflows, implement standardized best practices, and monitor outcomes to ensure improvements are sustained.
• Develops implementation plans and performance measures for strategic initiatives, including service line growth, new programs, technology implementations, facility expansions, and operational redesign.
• Builds project management and process improvement capability across the organization by developing tools, templates, methods, meeting structures, and coaching to support consistent execution and accountability.
• Provides leadership, direction, and mentorship to project managers, analysts, coordinators, and other team members assigned to strategic and operational initiatives.

Requirements

REQUIRED EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, Public Health, Nursing, Industrial Engineering, or related field preferred.
• Minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in healthcare operations, project management, process improvement, performance improvement, consulting, or operational excellence, preferably in an oncology or academic healthcare environment.
• Minimum of 3 years of leadership or management experience overseeing teams, strategic initiatives, cross-functional projects, or operational improvement programs preferred.
• Demonstrated success leading large-scale, cross-functional projects and sustainable organizational change initiatives required.

REQUIRED CERTIFICATES, LICENSE OR REGISTRATION

• Project Management Professional certification (PMP) or equivalent required. 
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt required; Lean Six Sigma Black Belt preferred.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS OR ABILITIES

• Advanced knowledge of project management, process improvement, operational excellence, and change management principles, methodologies, and tools, including budgeting, resource planning, workflow mapping, performance tracking, and outcome measurement.
• Strong understanding of healthcare operations, oncology service line operations, regulatory requirements, accreditation standards, and compliance requirements.
• Executive-level communication, facilitation, interpersonal, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across diverse teams and leadership groups.
• Skilled in complex problem-solving, critical thinking, decision-making, and operational analysis, with the ability to translate strategy into actionable plans.
• Strong leadership presence and collaboration abilities to influence without direct authority, engage cross-functional teams, create accountability, and drive sustainable operational change.
• Proficiency in project management software, Microsoft Office Suite, and reporting or data visualization tools.
• Ability to manage multiple complex priorities in a fast-paced environment while maintaining focus on quality, timelines, stakeholder alignment, and measurable results.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, accuracy, confidentiality, and professionalism in all aspects of work.
• Empathetic, service-oriented, and motivated to improve processes that enhance the patient, provider, and team experience.
• Ability to build trust, coach teams through change, support adoption of new workflows, and reinforce accountability for sustained improvement.
• Experience developing dashboards, KPIs, executive summaries, project charters, implementation plans, and ROI or pro forma support materials preferred.